Iowa Senate gives green light to industrial hemp
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Published
4/16/2019
DES MOINES — Iowa farmers would be allowed to grow industrial hemp as a crop under legislation that Monday cleared the state Senate.
Senators voted 49-1 to send the Iowa House a bill authorizing the production, processing and marketing of industrial hemp in Iowa subject to federal approval and under the guidance of the state Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The measure was guided by the U.S. Farm Bill, which effectively legalized hemp production.
“This is a new era in agriculture. This is something we haven’t seen since World War II,” said Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan. “But it’s better and it truly is looking at the future of Iowa agriculture.”
Senate File 599 would create the Iowa Hemp Act and set up a fund managed by state ag officials for fees, appropriations and other revenue that would be generated to help administer the new activity.
Read the full article on the Cedar Rapids Gazette website.
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